Sustainability Snapshots: Forests, Metals and Renewables
19 September 2023
Read Time 3 MIN
Follow along as we consider climate across a variety of sectors. This includes forests sequestering carbon emissions, the critical metals and minerals needed for electric vehicle batteries, and boots-on-the-ground experience visiting offshore wind farms and battery manufacturing plants.
Going Beyond the Trees at the van Eck Forests
The history and unique forestry management of the van Eck Forests in Northern California and Oregon is showcased in the documentary “Beyond the Trees”. For decades, the forests have been managed using an innovative model at a cross-section of conservation, climate, and commerce.
In addition to reducing carbon by the equivalent of removing over 400,000 cars from the road, these forests continue to produce revenue and to help fund forest research.
The fight to restore our native forests began long ago when Fred van Eck, an investment manager passionate about forests, met Laurie Wayburn, a pioneer in forestry restoration. Today, the forests operate as living laboratories to test out innovations in forest management, showing how forests can generate economic returns while also providing climate change resilience.
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Get to Know the Green Metals Enabling the Energy Transition
Each episode of this series highlights a different metal or mineral that will power the energy transition. Listen as Charl Malan, Senior Metals and Mining Analyst for the VanEck Natural Resources Equity Strategy, walks through lithium and graphite.
Learn about the unique properties of each critical metal and mineral and how they will be used in electric vehicle batteries and other technologies enabling the energy transition. Stay tuned for the next episode on Cobalt!
Green Bonds: An Answer to EM Sustainability Financing
Emerging markets will require annual investments to more than triple from $770 billion in 2022 to $2.8 trillion by the early 2030s in order to meet rising energy needs while fulfilling climate goals set by the Paris Agreement.1 We believe that the global emerging markets debt market can play a crucial role in satisfying this financing need.
Boots on the Ground - Visiting Companies Playing an Important Role
Ever wondered what it’s like to visit the world’s first offshore floating wind farm or a giga battery plant? Listen as Shawn Reynolds, Portfolio Manager for the VanEck Natural Resources Equity Strategy shares his takeaways from visiting Freyr’s battery plants in the Arctic Circle, where the company aims to produce the cheapest and greenest batteries in the world.
Antonio de Pinho, Senior Analyst for the VanEck Natural Resources Equity Strategy highlights how he witnessed Equinor’s efforts to electrify its oil field in the North Sea as a part of efforts to integrate its oil and gas operations with renewable energy. He also touches on Equinor’s efforts to build offshore wind in the North Sea.
1 International Energy Agency and International Finance Corporation, June 2023.